‘Holi’ signifies universal harmony & brotherhood

Prof. (Dr.) Jayadeba Sahoo

(Faculty, Brahma Kumaris & Ex-Dean, Faculty of Education, Rajiv Gandhi (Central) University, Itanagar. He can be reached at jayadeba.sahoo@rgu.ac.in or drjayadeb12@gmail.com.)

The cycle of time keeps rotating, but its memories remain. To freshen these memories, memorials are made, stories are written, and birthdays are observed, in which self-respect, love, and true feelings are imbibed. Unfortunately, a day comes when respect & love cease and rituals remain. It would not be an exaggeration to say that festivals nowadays are being celebrated just to continue the tradition. India is a spiritually orientated country. The number of festivals celebrated here is hardly comparable to festivals celebrated by other countries. Twelve months in a year is filled with thirteen big festivals.  ‘Holi’ has a special importance among them.

The auspicious festival of ‘Holi’ had been reduced to an annual ritual hardly reflecting its true significance. Without harmony, there can’t be peace. Human harmony with the self, nature, fellow beings, and society is the basis of universal peace and happiness. The basis of harmony, in turn, is in becoming ‘being’ or ‘soul’ conscious rather than ‘human’ or ‘body’ conscious. When we identify merely with ‘humus’ (in Latin for ‘soil’) or ‘human body,’ worldly possessions, position, and relations, then our perception, visions, values, attitude, and actions get circumscribed and narrowed down. Our consciousness gets bogged down by a set of social conditioning, bias, prejudice, pride, ego, lust, jealousy, or hatred. This gross or mundane mentality becomes the breeding ground of all negativity, vices, disharmony, and discord in self and society.

When we become ‘soul’ or ‘being’ conscious, the horizon of our perception, outlook, mindset, character, and conduct expands to become universal, holistic, and harmonious. We go beyond the consideration of all limitedness, caste, creed, community, sex, race, and religion, and we embrace everyone and everything under the sun with equal love, affection, care, and concern, as we would have done the same for ourselves and our near and dear ones.

The joyous spirit of ‘Holi’ in the true sense envisages and encompasses this universality of perception, and when people put it into practice by remaining in soul consciousness, they can widely promote essential unity in diversity and universal brotherhood of mankind under the spiritual fatherhood of one incorporeal Supreme Being. The celebration of ‘Holi,’ which is supposed to arouse and spread soul consciousness rather than gross entanglement, if observed in proper perspective, can help the self and others to collectively connect and commune with the Supreme Cosmic Energy—the eternal source of pure and positive powers for self & world transformation, for holistic health, harmony, and happiness.

The festival of ‘Holi’ in a spiritual sense stands for the victory of virtues over vices, light over darkness, mind over matter, subtle over the gross, love over hatred, and divinity over the demonic. It is not merely a playful game in colours or coloured water. It is much more than a mundane indulgence in fun and frolic for a day or two. Rather, it is a common socio-cultural and spiritual platform for contemplating and creating meaningful avenues for healthy and harmonious inter-religious, inter-community, inter-caste, and international interactions, understanding, cooperation, and peaceful co-existence.

Devout devotee Prahlad inspires us to look within, introspect, and remain in love with full intellectual connection with the Supreme Soul for developing inner powers, divine strength, and support so that we can burn and sublimate the Holika-like evil traits and devilish proclivities in the sacred fire of Holy Communion with the Almighty.

With the practice and powers of such spiritual wisdom, human values, and RajYoga meditation on God, the forces of good and similarly minded people can unite and take up collective measures to face and finish Hiranya Kashyap-like divisive and destructive cults of violence, cruelty, religious intolerance, and bigotry in the long run.

This we can attain when we make Holi Mangal Milan by forging links and fostering friendship with like-minded people from all religious groups and communities and by getting united and committed as brother souls under the fatherhood of the Supreme Soul, to the common minimum agenda of defeating and eliminating the vicious cult of hatred, violence, and vices for restoring a benign culture of peace, non-violence, and benevolence and for re-establishing a single religion of humanity for all of mankind.

Observe ‘Holi’ In A Holy

& Healthy Way:

Purity of means is as essential as honesty of purpose. Means should justify the end, not vice versa. In fact, purity in practice always begets peace and happiness. The festival of ‘Holi’ conveys this universal message in many ways to mankind. The story of Prahalad in Vishnu Puran projects the ultimate triumph & purity over impurity, goodness over evils, and virtues over vices. The legend depicts Prahalad’s devotion to Lord Vishnu and describes his father, King Hiranya Kashyap, as an atheist engaged in religious persecution. The evil father adopts many ruthless routes to dissuade his son from the path of devotion but fails. Finally, the devil king seeks the help of his sister Holika, who is blessed by Lord Brahma not to be consumed by fire. She enters a bonfire, taking Prahalad on her lap. For misusing the boon, Holika is burnt to ashes, while Prahalad escapes unscathed.

People today observe and play Holi in gross form and mundane manner without realising the deeper implications of its rich rituals. By such outward, ritualistic, and routine observance of Holi, they deprive the self and society of true spiritual empowerment and enrichment, which the festival is supposed to provide.

Vabhishya Puran depicts the narration of Devarshi Narad, who speaks highly of Holi to King Yudhistir: “Oh Emperor, on Phalguna Purnima (day of Holi), people of your kingdom should be allowed to have fun and frolic without any fear. Boys should go out and gather sticks for Holika burning in an atmosphere of loud laughter, ha-hola & hymn chanting to destroy the demon. To date, the effigy of evil Holika is continued to be burnt, oh King, to annihilate all enemy forces”.

It stands to reason that no physical bonfire of dry sticks can ward off all evils or inauspiciousness. Rather, it is the dryness, hardness, and harshness of human propensities that perpetrate pain unto the self and others that need to be sublimated in the subtle fire of divine knowledge and meditation on God. The practice and promotion of holy communion of self with the Supreme Soul hold the key not only to wiping out innate evils, vices, and negative traits but also to empowering and enriching the self and others with positive qualities, character, and conduct.

As per Brahma Puran, on the day of Holi, if a person in rapt attention makes a prayerful darshan of Purushotham Srikrishna’s idol kept on a swing in the temple, then the person is assured of a place in Lord Krishna’s celestial kingdom, Vaikunth, or Paradise.

Mention of such rituals in scriptures needs to be understood not in their literal sense, but in spiritual essence. Not mere physical glances or glimpses of Lord Krishna’s idol but regular divine contemplation and meditation on God’s incorporeal point-light image and cultivation of Krishna’s deity qualities such as contentment, courage, cheerfulness, detachment, dispassion, and determination in life would enable you to eliminate inner impurities and negativities and to experience deity-like true peace, health, harmony, and happiness.

Similarly, the chanting of the Vedas’ holy hymns “Raskhohagam Balgaham” for destroying the devils during the demoness ‘Holika’ burning and the mention of ‘Holi’ in scripture as Vish Todak (Vice-Demolition) and Punya Praydayak (Merit Giving) Parv or festival enjoin the observers to desist from demonic thoughts, desires, diets, and dispositions. This can be done when you light the inner fire of spiritual wisdom and rajyoga meditation on God and when you adopt universal values, a satwik diet, and a healthy lifestyle so that you can smear and decorate yourself and all others with divine colours of purity, positivity, balance, and bliss in life.